


So it Goes

by orphan_account



Series: Odd Couple [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Domestic Disputes, Domestic Violence, Dominant Omega, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, M/M, Mental Anguish, Miscarriage, Smut, Submissive Alpha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-21 22:41:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/905801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because Alpha David Gray and his mate were happy didn't mean it was the ending.</p><p>New Readers: This work follows on directly from "Hand Beneath His Boot" and is necessary to understand the events of this story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tripping at the Finish Line

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the reason "Hand Beneath His Boot" ended where it did was because I only intended for that story to tell about their beginnings. You didn't really think a couple of guys like Tobin and David would have it easy, did you?

 

David had always suspected that something out there was destined to step into the path of their happy ending.  He was a pregnant Alpha from a family with a penchant for less-than-benevolent neglect and his mate was an Omega with a history of violence.  They were not the stuff that faerie dust and wonderland castles were made of.  They were the stuff of poorly edited news videos and tabloid rumour-mongering. 

So yes, in a way, David had always known this was coming.  He’d just hoped that maybe the universe would have the good grace to let him be wrong for once.

~~~

_Two Days Earlier…_

“I don’t care whether you like this or not, mother, it’s happening,” David said, not looking at his mother even as he stood in her parlour.

She had invited Tobin and David over for lunch that day as a chance to make nice since she hadn’t had a chance to snoop in their lives since their Bonding Ceremony.  God knew what she thought she was going to get out of them, let alone David.  If the big guy up there couldn’t figure it out then neither could the poor addled Alpha.  Still, he wanted to at least keep a somewhat amiable relationship with the woman for the sake of keeping everyone sane, so he’d consented. 

Tobin had been less than willing.

David had tried to wheedle and cajole, but nothing was budging his mate on this one.  Tobin had been much more calm about his mother since he’d effectively scruffed her and laid down the law, but that didn’t mean he was comfortable going into her territory.  Not to mention, Tobin had pretty much made a pact that he’d never expose Tuck to that woman in anything resembling a private setting, so he was pretty much going to stay home and take care of his little brother.  The older Alpha had tried to push him to at least make an appearance, but his Omega had started to bristle, the street thug jumping behind the tense line of his shoulders and that had been that.

The argument that followed had been nothing short of spectacular.  It still turned David’s stomach to think about it, so he just didn’t.  Instead, he did what he always chose to do when a situation got too rough.  He put on his happiest face and pretended like absolutely nothing was wrong.  When the day came, he’d gotten in the car and driven to his mother’s garish estate.  It had been his only option at that point considering that Tobin and Tuck had been gone when he’d gotten up.  He wasn’t angry at Tobin for bailing…he knew that when the kid was embarrassed he preferred to run rather than face it at first.  David knew it was best just to go to his mother’s for lunch and deal with the fallout when his Omega was ready to face it.

Of course, in the hubbub of it all, David totally forgot that he hadn’t informed his mother of his pregnancy.  It had totally slipped his mind that they’d been hiding his newly minted up-the-duffedness at the time of their Bonding Ceremony.  He had also forgotten that she wasn’t the most graceful woman on the face of the Earth.

Naturally, when he walked into his mother’s home right smack during his third trimester, the proverbial shit hit the fan…and here they were.

His mother’s face was stormy as she snapped, “As if marrying your piece of abusive gutter trash wasn’t sick enough, you’re pregnant now?”

“I thought we had come to a truce, mother.  You know I love him, so don’t talk about him like that,” David’s face was cold again.

Only his mother could ever make him forget how to smile.

“This has gone too far.  This is disgusting now.  I was willing to tolerate your mongrel dog because he at least had the ability to bear you children but now? Now, you’re spitting in the face of order, nature, society and bringing about this…this…abomination!” his mother shouted at him, too far gone for decorum.

The Alpha flinched as if he’d been slapped, “Clearly, mother, this isn’t against _Nature_ if I’ve actually made it to the third trimester _naturally_.”

“David, I expect you to do the mature, appropriate thing and explore other options,” she said bluntly, in the nature of an ultimatum.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, voice dark with suspicion.

“Well, you’ve sat on this far too long for a tasteful termination, so I suppose adoption will have to do.  We can’t look into any of our friends because they’ll start asking questions, but I’m sure a local orphanage could be persuaded to take a little extra care with a generous, anonymous donation…” clearly his mother thought that she was getting through to him.

David cured her of that notion real quick.

“No.  No, this baby is mine and Tobin’s and it’s not your business,” he said stiffly, feeling that a move to the door was called for.

“If you’re THAT determined to have a child, then explain to your Tobin that you just did it wrong this time.  Explain to him that it’s HIS job to bear the young and that, if he keeps that in mind, you’ll keep the baby on the next try,” she sniffed.

Two days.

Two days of arguments and being stuck in them.

David had had enough.

He exploded, turning on his mother with a fit of temper that would have made Tobin proud, “How DARE you tell my mate and I what we are and aren’t allowed to do with our lives! How dare you?! All my life I’ve wanted to tell you that there is something severely wrong with you! Do you know that any normal mother would be EXCITED that she was going to be a grandmother? But all you care about is bowing and scraping to some insane set of rules that don’t even make sense! And you’re so happy with this ugly yoke you’ve got on your neck that you bring the boot down on everyone else’s too!”

Teeth gritted in rage, he jabbed her once in the chest with his finger, “I’ve let you be a harpy on my shoulder for so long because it didn’t matter so much before…but with her? With her, it matters, so to borrow an expression from my mate…Fuck off.”

He stormed to the door, one arm held over his mouth to stave off the wave of emotion he was choking down, “Thanks for inviting me to lunch.  Enjoy.”

His voice shook as he tried for a flippant tone.  He ignored it, charging out of the parlour and past the no-doubt wide-eyed staff.  The fight hadn’t exactly been quiet and he was sure the news would be out everywhere by tomorrow.  Didn’t matter.  Let everyone know he’d had a fight with his mother.  Let everyone expect them not to be sharing company.  Let everyone know he was going to have a baby soon.  He didn’t care.  He was proud.  He was so proud.

He tried to tell himself that as he took shaky steps down to the car he’d brought with him today.  He felt weak now and sapped of energy in the way that only a truly emotional upheaval could do to a person.  David felt weak as a kitten and he knew he was verging on a panic attack from the way he couldn’t stop shuddering even as he threw himself behind the wheel of his car.  Intellectually he knew it would be best to just sit and wait it out, but emotionally he knew he just couldn’t be there anymore.   He couldn’t.  The very idea made him ill in ways he couldn’t even describe.

The car started with a satisfying growl and he peeled out faster than he should have.  It was another thing he knew intellectually that his emotions weren’t letting him acknowledge.

David’s hands continued to jitter on the wheel and he gasped a little, feeling like his lungs were constricting.  It was a panic attack, he was sure of it, his brain rapidly cataloguing symptoms, but too far gone to know what to do with them.  His vision was going blurry, but he couldn’t make his feet or hands do what he wanted them to anymore.  Everything was on autopilot and unfortunately that pilot had spent the last night on a bender and wasn’t fit to fly today.

In retrospect, getting hit by a car while recklessly merging into main traffic should have been expected.

~~~

_One Day Earlier…_

If David had learned anything from his wild youth of testing his more volatile compounds on himself it was that no matter how horrible passing out was, the waking up stage was always worse.

Every inch of his skin was hot with agony.

His head throbbed and even his fingertips ached.

From the utter lack of mobility in his arms and one of his legs, he could tell that he was wearing an impressive amount of plaster.  He could also tell that his neck was in a brace and one eye had a patch over it.  It wasn’t the way he wanted to greet the world again and it would have been nice if the one eye he could still see out of wasn’t blurry.  He felt nauseous and the world was spinning and he just wished that he had some sort of anchor…

Oh.

Now that was lovely.

There was suddenly a set of warm fingers wrapping around his own from where they peeked out of the cast on his arm, rough and familiar.

Tobin.

“Hey baby,” Tobin said, voice hushed and far too solemn.

Alarm klaxons started going off in David’s head.

He tried to turn his head to look at his mate, but the Omega was already up and moving, “Shhh, no, don’t move, baby.”

“What happened?” David slurred out, finding that his jaw wasn’t with the program either.

He found Tobin’s face hovering above his, looking about twenty years older from what seemed like stress and sleep deprivation, “There was a car accident.  Look, don’t worry ‘bout it.  Just…just rest now, okay?”

“You’ve got a pretty serious face on, Benny…I’m not dying am I?” David tried to tease.

Tobin’s brow just creased deeper and he didn’t say anything.

“…Oh God, I am dying.”

David squirmed, trying to sit up and get a look at some of the beeping equipment around him, trying to ascertain how much longer he had.  The ice-eyed blonde he mated himself to was quick to push him back down, pressing muscular hands to two of the only non-bandaged areas on his chest.  Those pale eyes were wide, blonde hair hanging in his face.

He hadn’t looked that distressed in a long time, “No…no, you’re not dying…”

“Then why the long face, Benny?” he asked, allowing his mate to reach down and mess with his pillows, feeling the other fuss.

The sadness in his mate’s face was almost as painful as getting hit by a car.

He knew then.

Nobody had to tell him.

It hit David like a bolt out of the blue and his hands spasmed in their plaster casting.  He wanted to reach down and grab his stomach to confirm the horrible reality, but nothing budged.  Tobin’s fingers wrapped around his again, anchoring and trying to grant him some sanity.  The scientist wanted to scream.  He wanted to cry.  He felt hollowed out and utterly, horrifically bereft.  However, strangely and in complete opposition to what every sappy movie ever showed, he could do nothing.  David could only stare as the sureness of his loss wriggled into his bones like maggots.

He barely even registered Tobin getting as close as he could and holding him through the worst of it.

~~~

_Today_

So the doctors had come and gone, scurrying in and out of his room since yesterday.  Early in, they’d tried to force his mate from the room, but the scruffy Omega had nearly flipped a table at the very suggestion.  They’d since set up a more comfortable chair for him. 

There had been a parade of people all around him with charts and machines that blinked and beeped at him.  They chattered medications at him and babbled psychotherapy in his general direction, but it had all muddled together.  The only people he paid any attention to were Tobin and Tuck (who had practically thrown a fit when he knew David was in the hospital and wasn’t allowed to see him).  David didn’t think anything had been explained to his adopted son yet, but the kid was damn intuitive.  The dark-haired boy was quiet as a mouse and by the Alpha’s side as often as he could be.

The doctors and nurses had told him in painstakingly scientific terms how he’d lost the baby.  They’d told him exactly how the impact from the accident had damaged his already fragile child-bearing organs and caused the miscarriage.  They’d made his daughter sound like a statistic…like a collection of data and parts instead of the tiny person she had been.  She’d been so close to full-term and they were explaining her death to David as easily as reading a new vaccine brochure. 

It numbed him beyond words.

David had thought before in his lonely years that he knew what it felt like to be empty.  He had been so unfulfilled, bolstered only by his petty pranks and social stunts.  He thought he knew what it felt like to be completely hollow, but oh, how wrong he had been.  He had only been longing for something then, only missing a vital piece of his heart that Tobin had crashed in and filled gracelessly with all the warmth of an inferno.  The pain of those days had been nothing like having a life ripped right out of his very core.  It paled in comparison to the emptiness he felt right at the center of him where once his little daughter had been sleeping and kicking and growing.  He'd never felt so frozen.  The cold of that bitter barren waste inside him stretched out icy tendrils to everyone around him, a heavy chill hanging in the sterile air.

 His only relief was the fact that, like with so many other important moments of his life, his mother hadn't bothered to show her face.  He didn't think he could take her smug brand of stern comfort right now and he was sure that Tobin was in no mood.  Part of him wondered if she was only disappointed that he wasn't dead.  After all, what a splendid bit of drama that would have been.  He supposed it didn't count that it felt like he was dead.

He was aware of Tobin making feeble attempts at conversation every few hours or so.  He'd yammer on for a few sentences and look at David, almost as if he hoped he would have something to say.  The Alpha in the bed didn't think anything of it at first.  It was just more static in his ears.  He only realized later that he was usually the one filling up the silences.  He hadn't even noticed that he hadn't spoken in nearly two days.

But what was there really to say?

Nothing.

There was nothing to say.


	2. When Silence Fell

By this point in his life, Tobin really wished the world would be done fucking him over.

After everything he’d survived in the ghetto…after all of the whoring and close-calls he really hoped that finding David and settling down would be Murphy’s cue to take his law and choke on it. 

Tobin was used to problems he could punch in the face.  He was used to problems that he could intimidate, threaten or beat into submission.  He hadn’t grown up dealing with subtleties or nuances.  He’d never developed a method for handling them even after marrying into money.  Everything that he’d grown up around was a very real problem that was going to get him by the throat if he didn’t’ get it first.  Everything he was dealing with now was very much out of the realm of his expertise.

He was a man who knew very well how to deal with the physical problems…money, violence and so on…but this…

How did he cope with the trauma of having his unborn daughter ripped away from him? He’d just mastered the panic over being a father at his age and now he’d never actually know.  The ache in his chest was enough to strangle him and he just didn’t know how to handle it.  He couldn’t even fathom it.  It felt like someone had hollowed out his belly and let a wild animal loose in his chest.  Everything inside of him felt like a pulpy, torrid mess.  He was sure if any doctor here were to cut him open and look inside him, it would look like his guts had been through a blender. 

Tobin was drowning.

The worst part of it was if he didn’t know how to handle the wild influx of emotions putting him in a stranglehold, then what in the hell did he say to his mate?

How did he care for the infuriating, improbable man who had almost literally taken a gamble on him and given him a good life? How did he console his more-delicate-than-anticipated mate when he couldn’t even voice what it was he was dealing with? All he could do was sit in that horrible chair by his mate’s bedside, numb and shredded and mute, and watch him with crystal blue eyes full of everything he wish he knew how to say.  He felt like an ineffectual child all over again, but he didn’t dare say it for fear that David would feel the need to try and help him.  He wasn’t the one that needed help.

He knew something was wrong when David didn’t speak the first day.

Typically, no matter how dire the situation or how grim the feelings, David ran his mouth.  It was something Tobin had, at first, tolerated and accepted.  Then it became something that he came to appreciate.  His world was always full of sound and care.  It was David’s way of puzzling through life and checking in with the people around him or asking for comfort from those in his home.  Even if he wasn’t speaking, he was tinkering and making some sort of noise.  It reassured Tobin that he was never alone in this new life.  David wasn’t a man who valued silence.

Lying there in that hospital bed, David barely moved, let alone speak.

After Tobin noticed, every second filled with silence became agonizing.  It made him reach out for his mate, pet his hand and care for him.  His over was filled with a hurt that he couldn’t repair or fight off. 

At first he tried to focus on the sounds of nurses and doctors as they hustled in and out of the room, but it wasn’t right.  They were foreigners into their world…they were invaders.  Their sounds were grating. 

After that, he tried to focus on his little brother whenever the other was in the room, but his much more empathic little sibling was almost as silent as his mate.  It was as if they were sharing pain on a mute, spiritual level that Tobin would never achieve.  He envied them intensely, but couldn’t help being grateful for SOMEONE he could be on David’s level right now.

It was the worst at night.

Night was silent and the tinny beeping of medical machines faded to nothing in the all-consuming quiet of the hospital.  There was nothing within that hush to distract Tobin or otherwise shift his focus.

He finally broke on the third night in the hospital (only the second one that David had been conscious for).

His Alpha wasn’t sleeping.  He hadn’t eaten that day either.  After David had discovered the loss of the baby, he’d gone into some sort of bizarre waking coma. 

In the dim of his Alpha’s hospital room, Tobin fancied that his skin looked even more ashen than it actually was.  He struggled in his mind.  His instincts told him that he was the Omega and he needed someone stronger to comfort him now…that he needed someone to see to him…that he shouldn’t know what to do with his Alpha unable to direct him.  Yet, at the same time, the dominant part of him, the more prominent part of him, wanted only to care for David.  It rebelled, loud and horrible, when it could do NOTHING for the mother of its child. 

In the darkness, Tobin had to speak before he tore himself apart.

“…Dave? Please say something.”

He was greeted by more silence.  It endured, awful and heavy, for many minutes. 

At last, at last, the Alpha on the bed shifted and tried to speak, “I’m okay.”

Tobin stood in a wink and moved himself to the edge of his mate’s bed, “No you’re not.  You haven’t said shit in two days.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be quiet in places like this?” David tried to smirk, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

His Omega reached out and touched his stomach quietly, face a mask of pain, “Don’t do this to me, baby.  Don’t shut me out.”

David grimaced, eyes tight with agony, before turning away.

Tobin continued, knowing it would hurt, but knowing this was just one of those things in life that HAD to, “What happened? The doctors…the police…everyone’s saying it was a bad accident.  David, you don’t have accidents.  Not like this.  What happened?”

“Bad driving?” the Alpha tried to say.

“Damnit, David!” Tobin’s eyes flashed, scared at the withdrawal, “I know it hurts, but we gotta talk!”

The other man flinched, looking up into the hot conviction in his mate’s eyes.  He was transfixed by what he saw in those agonized blues.  He saw a pain as intense as his own, different, but every bit as gut-wrenching and bottomless.  He saw desperation and fear layered over that in equal measure.  It stabbed deep into David’s achingly empty guts.  He’d never thought he’d experience anything more visceral and awful than the agony of losing a child, but there, looking into his mate’s eyes, he found something similar.  He choked.  David didn’t even realize the tears had started.

The mates stared at each other for a long moment before David broke.

He didn’t sob or shatter.  It was worse than that.  He seemed almost normal, save for the odd hitching breath or the slow, fat tears that soaked his beard.

“I...I went to my mother’s house for lunch and she saw I was pregnant.  It…it slipped my mind that we’d been hiding it.  She saw it.  She started talking about giving it up and I…I panicked.  I couldn’t breathe.  I had to leave.  I knew something was wrong, but I just wanted to get home and then someone hit me and then…”

He couldn’t finish, just swallowed with a syrupy ‘click’ sound.

Tobin’s hand held his in nearly a white-knuckled grip, “What do you mean she was talkin’ about giving it up?”

David heard the cold anger in his mate’s voice and he just couldn’t deal with it right now, “Whatever she meant, it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

It was a low blow, but it was a desperate move to avoid talking about something he just couldn’t stomach right now.

He couldn’t even regret it when Tobin looked like he’d been slapped.

For a minute, he wondered if his volatile, street-thug partner would snap or storm off.  Instead, Tobin just leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead.  It was filled with every emotion he didn’t know how to voice.  David could feel it.  It didn’t begin to fix the tragedy that had befallen them but right then, in that moment, it was everything that he needed.  Everything hurt on so many different levels, but at least he wasn’t alone.  At the very least, he wasn’t alone.

~~~

Across town, in a lovey high-end town-house apartment, a thin, insistent wail shattered the tranquility of the night.

Groggy, Sydney Grace pulled himself out of bed from next to his Alpha.  He tried to be as quiet about it as possible so he wouldn’t wake his mate (the man HATED being roused without cause) to go and check on the sound.  He was tired, but he would deny it to his grave.  After all, it was his job to take care of the baby.  His mate worked all day and he was the house-Omega, so it was his job to see to the baby.  It was only fair.

Shirtless, hair mussed and large gray-blue eyes half-lidded with exhaustion, he padded into the kitchen to warm up a bottle before going into the baby’s room.

The room should have given him peace.  It was painted a soothing shade of soft blue with clouds sponged up on the ceiling (Sydney had done this in his free time to try and prepare himself for the new bundle of joy).  Instead, it only filled him with exhaustion and apprehension as he approached the lovely mahogany cot sat in the corner opposite the lovely picture window.  Within, its tiny occupant squirmed and mewed and wailed its little heart out

Sighing softly, Sydney reached down and bundled the tiny treasure up to his chest, giving her a small, soothing bounce I his arms, “Shh shh shh before you wake daddy up, sweetheart.  Your bottle’s almost ready.”

Of course, if he could just lactate like he was supposed to, he wouldn’t have to wait to feed his baby.  Who would have thought that finally having an infant would be the thing to make him feel like a failure.  He had done everything an Omega was supposed to do…mate and submit to an Alpha and now he had a baby, but it felt like it had been done all wrong.  Still, he could only paste on a smile and pad downstairs when he heard the ding sound on the microwave, talking softy to the baby all along.

“I know, darling, I know…”

He slipped down to the kitchen silent as a shadow, trying to hush his daughter desperately but with as much tenderness as he could muster.  The slim Omega plucked the formula out of the microwave and retreated back up to the baby’s room, sitting down in a padded rocking chair by the window so he could look out and try to peer at the moon beyond the light pollution of the city.  He’d found it comforting of late even though once he’d only cared for the city that ruined its view.

Sydney was a good Omega.  He should be happy.  He kept himself handsome for his mate like he was supposed to.  He mated to the Alpha who had bid on him at the auction forever ago when the other had proposed, just like he was supposed to.  He was even caring for a beautiful daughter, just like he was supposed to.  Then why did it all feel so hollow and unfulfilling?

He looked down into his daughter’s face as she relaxed around her bottle.

Well…

At least one of them was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was reluctant about writing this chapter because I knew that this would be the one where the two started to hash out the beginning feelings about losing a child. It's a huge, horrible deal that I was afraid I couldn't properly put into words. To be fair, I still don't feel like anything can properly capture the enormity of losing an infant.
> 
> Also, for those of you who were curious about Sydney in the first story, rejoice! He's going to be a major player in this one.


	3. No Fairy Tale Endings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's your next installment of So It Goes...
> 
> Smut ahoy!

Sydney didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep in the rocking chair until the stringent wailing of his mate’s alarm went off in the other room.  At first his eyes just fluttered open, absorbing the soft sunlight streaming in through the baby’s window.  He could hear a bird in the small tree just outside the window, soothing and bright to his weary ears.  He let the warmth of the atmosphere wrap him in a blissful cocoon…until he realized what he was hearing, the alarm slicing through his peaceful reverie.  He gasped, a little drop of adrenaline swooping in his stomach.

The baby, now half in his arms and half in his lap after their impromptu shared nap, let out a frustrated mewl at being disturbed.

His brain clawing its way up from the lingering fog of sleep, the waifish, brunette Omega threw himself out of the chair, clutching the baby to his chest.  Shit.  His mate HATED it when he wasn’t in the bed when he woke up.  He could feel the seconds ticking down in his brain, but his panic was rubbing off on the infant. 

He tried to lie her down in her cot and she immediately started fussing.  Sydney wasn’t supposed to let the baby fuss, but he was supposed to be in the other room NOW.  He could feel his breath starting to flutter with the beginnings of panic and indecision.  The Omega had to make a decision now, but there wasn’t any good choice to make. 

Finally, concern over his mate’s mood won out and the Omega walked as swiftly as he could to the bedroom he shared with his other half.  He knew it was too late the minute he saw the man sitting up against the headboard, giving him a disapproving look, but he had to do something.  Sydney stood guiltily in the doorway, bouncing the baby lightly against his shoulder.  He knew he was expected to speak now, but there was a lump in his throat, his powerful Alpha pinning him with a condescending stare.

After a moment, the Omega turned his massive blue eyes down to his bare toes, “…I’m sorry.”

The Alpha didn’t even bother moving from his spot, radiating dominance, “Would you care to explain why you weren’t in bed this morning?”

Sydney blushed, hot with shame at his failure, before saying, “I…the baby…she fussed last night, so I got up to feed her.  I must have fallen asleep in the chair with her…”

“You could have dropped her,” the big man scolded.

“I…I know…I’m sorry…” he was still staring at his toes, the baby still hot with unhappiness against his shoulder.

His mate’s lips thinned, “She’s crying.”

“I startled her a little when I woke up…she’s just scared,” Sydney tried to explain.

“I thought Omegas were meant to be naturally nurturing,” the other man responded, his tone judgmental and cutting.

The younger man flinched like he’d been slapped.

The Alpha levered himself up out of bed and brushed past his mate, moving out the doorway, “Well, nevermind.  It’s all very new.”

His tone suggested that he wouldn’t be this lenient once the ‘newness’ had worn off.

“Once you get the baby calmed, come downstairs for breakfast before I have to go to work, Sydney.”

With that, the bigger man was gone downstairs to the kitchen. 

Sydney stood there, so embarrassed he was shaking.  He was forced to sit on the foot of the bed with his child in his arms.  His mate was right.  Any self-respecting Omega would have the sort of natural grace required to care for a child and be available in any capacity their mate required.  Where had he failed so phenomenally as a good spouse? He was always perfectly well-behaved in public and in the home, did exactly as his mate bid him, never suppressed a heat or took a birth control pill…and yet here he was struggling to even be domestic, something that was supposed to be inherent in his designation.

Where had he gone so wrong?

Gathering up his courage, he leaned down to kiss his daughter on the forehead.  She’d quieted down by this point, pouting up at him with velvety-brown eyes.  He begged her forgiveness with a miserable expression of his own before rising to go and put her in the cot until he was done with breakfast.  Part of him hated leaving her alone.  After all, she was still so new and small, but it was the safest place for her.  Quietly, he took her back to her room before girding his loins and heading downstairs.

He had a lot of making up to do.

~~~

_One Week Later_

Tobin should have known there was only so long David would submit to being trapped in a bed.  His bones were still broken, yes, and his body still hadn’t recovered completely from the miscarriage, but the hospital was driving him stir-crazy.  It was actually making things worse.  He wasn’t grieving properly when he wasn’t in his own territory…in his safe place.  It meant that it was time for Tobin to go to war.

When he’d realized how bad things had gotten, he’d gone on the warpath.

He began badgering doctors for exit paperwork.  He’d resorted to threatening when he’d had to.  He’d intimidated a nurse into giving him the number for a home-care service.  His Alpha needed something other than being trapped in this hospital and by GOD he was going to give his mate exactly what he needed.  No one got in his way when he was protecting his family.

It had all led him here to this moment, face to face with his mate’s head physician in a private consultation room.

“Mr. Lewis, I understand your discontent, but moving your mate really isn’t the best decision,” he tried to say, speaking down to the blonde.

His nose clearly told him that the man in front of him was an Omega.  Clearly, he thought that meant the man in front of him needed to be soothed.  Cleary, he thought he could lead the man in front of him around by the nose.

Tobin was pleased to dispossess him of that notion.

“Hey, David isn’t doing too hot here.  He needs to be HOME.  He needs private care so he can…cope….with all this shit,” the Omega said, looking the doctor dead in the eyes.

“Now I know that sometimes it’s hard to see progress…” the doctor started, not getting it yet.

“Do me a solid, yeah man? Don’t you EVER talk down to me,” Tobin eyed the doctor cooly.

The man held his hands up and opened his mouth to speak, but Tobin wouldn’t let him, barreling on.

“Your nurses gave me the number of a private care service.  I don’t see any reason why we can’t just do that.  He is NOT healin’ here.  He’s not…getting it all out.  He’s holdin’ back because he’s in public and that ain’t gonna hep him!” He leaned forward on his elbows.

“Well, the therapy process takes time….”

Tobin’s hand slammed down hard on the table, loud and shocking, even while his face remained shark-like and calm, “Listen.  To.  Me.  I know my mate.  This ain’t a slow therapy process.  NOTHING is happening.  So here’s what you’re gonna do.  You’re gonna sign the release forms and send David home so he can melt down in peace and I can take care of him.”

The doctor stared at him, wide-eyed, “…Well…I…I couldn’t in good conscience let him leave without arranging therapy sessions…”

“Fine.  Arrange ‘em.  Do it, then send him home,” Tobin’s eyes were positively Baltic.

He was daring the man in front of him to argue.

The doctor looked startled and uncomfortable.  Not many people in the nicer parts of society such as this particular high-end hospital were used to dealing with argumentative Omegas.  They were used to the demure creatures who took the advice they were given with a smile before referring back to their Alphas.  Yet here was Tobin making decisions FOR his Alpha and practically threatening a medical professional to get his way.  He was flabbergasted and out of his element, frozen with indecision before slowly, with great deliberation, he reached for the set of paperwork Tobin had come in with.

“I still don’t agree with removing Mr. Gray…”

“Lewis.”

“Forgive me…with removing Mr. Lewis from our care.”

The Omega watched him from beneath thuggish, half-lowered lids, “Don’t have to agree.  Just have to sign those papers.”

Reluctant, but against a wall, the doctor had no choice but to sign the papers.  He couldn’t even begin to argue.  The sinewy Omega in front of him had demonstrated that he wasn’t interested. 

When it was done, he handed over the papers, “…File these with the front desk and they’ll put it through.”

“Thanks,” Tobin said as he snapped the papers up, standing.

“I still think…” he tried once more.

He found himself pinned to his seat by those inhumanly cold blue eyes, “Only thing you need to think about is when you wanna schedule his therapy for.”

With that, the Omega left the consultation office, closing the door with an authoritative ‘thud’ behind him.

~~~

The Alpha’s breath was hot against his jaw, the man’s weight bearing down on him.  He felt his mate’s tongue laving over their bonding marks on his shoulder, claiming him afresh.  He knew John didn’t like not having full access to him, what with the constant care the baby required.  The Alpha was just being possessive…his instincts were kicking into high gear because he hadn’t had his Omega in over a week.  The baby was settled in now, so he could finally indulge again.

Sydney let out a huffing whimper as John’s teeth fastened into the delicate skin behind his ear.  His body was too hot, responding to the dominant touch of his Alpha.  He was lying out flat on his belly, hips raised up slightly in supplication as was expected of him.  He could feel John’s already impressive erection pressing into the vulnerable clench between his cheeks through the rough fabric of the man’s trousers.  A thin sheen of sweat covered every inch of Sydney’s naked flesh.

He was gasping as a powerful hand reached down to grab at one of his ass-cheeks, digging in and moving it aside.  A groan ripped from him as blunt nails raked his skin accidentally.

John mouthed at his ear, growling into it as he shoved a finger into Sydney’s lubricating passage, “You’re so wet for me.  You missed this, didn’t you, pet? Say it.”

At first, the Omega could only mewl until his Alpha slapped him hard on the ass.

“Yes! Yes, I missed it…” he panted out, only for another strike to land on the other cheek.

His mate sucked on his earlobe, free hand reaching down to free his cock from the opening of his fly, “Yeah, you did.  God, you’re pretty like this.  Always are.”

Sydney was quivering all over as John played his receptive body like a finely tuned instrument.  He knew where to stroke and bite and where his fingers fit the best within the tight vice of his mate’s body.  A flush spread up the swan-like column of the Omega’s pale neck when he felt his mate’s erection rubbing between his cheeks.  Strong hands reached down to spread his thighs open further until he was wound tight and held down like a butterfly in a glass case.  He licked his lips, a whispery moan slipping out.

One hand slid across his exposed belly where it hovered an inch above the blankets, “Maybe one day you’ll do it for real.”

A bit of the desire drained from Sydney at the little dig.  It wasn’t his fault he hadn’t gotten…he’d TRIED…

All of his thoughts fled his mind when the blunt head of John’s thick arousal nudged up against his tiny pucker, pushing steadily until it popped in, impaling him.  His eyes widened and he let out a choked whimper while his Alpha continued the slow slide in until his entire backside was full and sticky and hot.  A keen ripped from his throat and his back arched when he felt John’s hips cupping his rear, nestled into him up to the balls.  For a minute, his mind went white and he became a creature of feeling only, of sensation.  His world narrowed down to the point where he was split open.

By the time he came back to himself, there were teeth dug in to the back of his neck, his erection shoved into the bed from the force of his Alpha’s thrusts.  Every sharp piston into his body coaxed a high, choked off shout from him and eventually he was forced to reach forward and brace against the headboard to keep from behind shoved into it.  He was always ridden more fiercely when John had been forced to wait, humped with the ferocity of a feral beast.

From the other room, he could hear the beginning of a sad little whine.  It shocked Sydney out of his euphoric, drifting state.

“The baby,” he gasped, trying to shuffle out from underneath John.

A rough hand wrapped into his hair and shoved his face back down into the pillow, “Stay.”

“But…” he tried to protest.

“You’ll at least do this part right,” the Alpha snarled and fucked into him so hard it made his hips jump, his spine bow.

Sydney gritted his teeth hard as he felt his mate’s knot force its way into him, swelling and locking them together and the Omega…he was too cowed to protest.

Eventually, the baby quieted down and the pale, slim creature tried to tell himself that the filthy feeling stealing over his skin was only sweat as his mate got up to go shower and get ready for bed.

Where had he gone so wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now we get a look at what a 'conventional' Alpha/Omega relationship is supposed to look like in this 'verse. It's not a pretty thing.


	4. Always Trying Harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to a surplus of free time, I'm able to push up my schedule and release two chapters today instead of one. I hope you enjoy and, as always, thank you so much for reading!

The next morning, as Sydney was sitting down to a cup of tea and trying not to think too hard (or sit in one position too long), there was a knock on his door.  It was a sharp knock that demanded answer, but there was a feminine delicacy to it all the same.  It was informing him that the person outside his door WOULD let in, but doing so nicely…in a civilized manner.

Tired, but intrigued, Sydney did what any good Omega would do and stood to go and answer his door graciously.  He winced a little as some of his aches from last night twinged, but neatly hid away his discomfort behind a docile, blue-eyed smile.  At least he’d had the good sense to dress nicely this morning, clad in a crisp white oxford shirt and a dark green jumper over a pair of his best jeans.  John was still unsure about jeans, but they’d decided that so long as they stayed in the house or the park they were allowed.

One could only imagine Sydney Porter’s (he’d taken John’s surname as was expected of him) when his houseguest was none other than the venerable Mrs. Gray.

“Mrs. Gray! Forgive me.  I wasn’t expecting a visit from you today,” he said graciously, stepping aside to allow her access if she desired it.

“Gracious child, you look a sight,” she told him.

Automatically, one of Sydney’s bird-thin hands swept up to brush imaginary stray hairs back into place, “I’m sorry…I haven’t had time to tidy yet.”

“Nonsense.  I’m sure your home is as close to impeccable as one can get without housekeepers,” David’s mother said primly as she stepped inside, “As a matter of fact, I consider it a mark of excellent breeding that you can keep it so tidy with a new baby in the house.”

Sydney blushed under her praise, ducking his head dutifully.  He’d been raised to believe that the greatest compliment an Omega could receive pertained to the home, the children and the spouse.  The fact that Mrs. Gray had touched on two of the three was meant to be a mark of honour and he did his best to look as grateful as any good Omega should be, considering.  It was nice to get some of the compliments he knew he should have been getting.  After all, he was trying so hard.

“I could be trying harder, all the same,” he replied humbly.

“You could always be trying harder,” she told him, seating herself on one of the lovely leather chairs in the den.

She was careful not to sit in John’s.  Almost all Alphas in high society made a very good show of staying out of one another’s territory.  It was how things were kept civil. 

Sydney nodded at her words and moved to stand in front of her, “May I offer you a cup of tea? I’ve a fresh pot of jasmine on the table.”

Mrs. Gray waved him off gracefully, “No, thank you, dear.  I’ve actually come to inquire about the Little Heir, as Truman Capote would put it.  I shan’t take much of your time.”

The Omega coloured at the mention of his daughter.

“How is the child? You don’t look pleased,” there was a note of accusation to her tone that Sydney was quick to soothe.

“I am very honoured that you chose John and myself to care for the baby, Mrs. Gray…she and I just don’t seem to be bonding.  She fusses and upsets John and my schedule is so…confused now,” he told her.

The silver matron straightened her spine and spoke, voice imperious, “Well, you simply MUST be more flexible, Sydney.  You simply MUST.  One cannot ignore the needs of one’s mate or one’s heir.  It is your job to ease the burdens of the home and if you cannot please both child AND mate, then you must.  Try.  Harder.”

“Yes, Mrs. Gray.  Of course,” he demurred, unable to help the sharp sting of shame he felt in his chest even though he hid it from his eyes.

The older woman sighed heavily, “Ah, Sydney.  I would not take you from your mate for anything, but you’ve no idea how much I wish something had worked out between you and David.  You could have made a proper Alpha out of him.”

Staying obediently where Mrs. Gray could see and speak to him, the brunette Omega felt his heart twist again.  Yes…if only…

She continued, “That Omega of his is an animal.  He’s rude, domineering, hasn’t even CONSIDERED pregnancy…it’s simply barbaric.  At least you’ve TRIED to conceive even if nothing’s come of it.”

Another stab in his useless guts.  Still, Sydney kept his face calm and tranquil.

“That was why I absolutely had to do something for you, child.  Why, you’re such a model Omega.  I couldn’t BEAR to have your name slandered over infertility.”

Sydney fought down a blush and swallowed, “You’ve no idea how grateful we are for your intervention, Mrs. Gray.  Would you like to see her?”

Mrs. Gray rose from her seat, waving him off once more, casually dismissive, “Oh no, child.  I haven’t the time.  I should let you get to your duties for the day.  I’d imagine you have quite a lot to do.”

With that, she went to the door and saw herself out before the Omega could even bid her farewell.  It left Sydney alone in his big, empty house save for him and the daughter that wasn’t even his. 

He felt tired again.  He always seemed to feel tired these days.  When he’d first bonded to John, he’d been so confident and smug that he’d been able to push down his niggling doubts until even he didn’t know they existed.  So what if he’d been unable to get David as was expected of him? He still wasn’t a failure.  No, that part only came later when he could do nothing to please his mate completely nor could he have a baby no matter how many doctors they went to.  Exhaustion, constant and pervading had crept over him then, insidious and slow-burning.  Once it had seeped into his bones it never seemed to leave him.

When he’d been unbonded, Sydney had been full of light and passion and cunning.  He’d had a flourishing social life and hobbies.  He’d been an excellent pianist and conversationalist.  He’d had a degree of control over his life (or at least the illusion of it).  Now all he had was a baby who barely liked him, a mate who only seemed to see his shortcomings and an empty home.  It wasn’t the happy existence he’d been led to believe in. 

In his moment of weakness, he wondered what things would have been like if he HAD managed to be good enough for David Gray.

He reached for the phone before he really knew what he was doing.

~~~

The sharp ringing of a telephone cut straight to the center of Tobin’s brain.

After his fight to get David situated back in their home the day before, he’d finally won.  They’d spent the rest of that day making preparations and then all of this morning actually getting him moved.  His mate was back in their bedroom now and Tobin was exhausted and unpleasant.  The doctors had tried to put up one final fight to keep David under their tight supervision, questioning Tobin’s reasoning capability again.  He’d quite politely questioned the doctor’s ability to take a fist to the face.  Argument solved.

Still, it had been nothing short of arduous getting David back here and setting up all the hospital equipment they’d need to host.  The last thing Tobin wanted to hear right now was the fucking phone and he swore to GOD if it woke David up, the person on the other end would really regret today.

He staked over and picked it up from the cradle, barking out an impatient, “Yes?”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line that depleted his patience further before a half-timid, “Tobin, right?” filled his ear.

Sydney.

Sydney FUCKING Grace.

Tobin scowled and truly wished the fucker could see it, “Good guess.  I’m busy.  What do you want?”

He could practically HEAR the surprise radiating from the phone.

“I just…I was calling to see how David was doing…”

The former drug-pusher felt a dangerous flash of heat (normally a prelude to violence) behind is eyes, “He’s fine.  We’re fine.  Is that all?”

“I wanted to know if there was a good time to visit and pay my respects.” It all came out in a rush.

“He ain’t DEAD, asshole,” Tobin informed him bluntly.

He could hear a steadying breath from Sydney’s end, “I…I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have called.”

The blonde Omega couldn’t help a dark thrill of satisfaction at having Sydney on the back foot when he said, “No.  You shouldn’t have.”

There was a long silence on the other end.  Tobin couldn’t hang up  just in case there was a little bit more revenge to reap for the way the other Omega had treated him during their first two meetings so long ago.  The thug could keep one hell of a grudge.

He was a little surprised when he got some fight from Sydney instead, “I was only trying to be nice.  Your mate was just in a very serious car accident!”

“Nice.  That’s a new trick for you, Grace,” he snapped back, blood simmering.

“Can’t you give it a rest?” there was an almost hysterical note in Sydney’s lilting voice that very nearly paused Tobin, “You HAVE David.  You won!”

The heat in Tobin’s veins went sludgy and cold with disgust, “Fuckin’ spoiled rich kid.  That’s all mating is to you, isn’t it? A game? Winners and losers? S’no wonder you weren’t good enough for him.”

“I get that, alright?!” Sydney shouted down the phone, surprising them both.

Silence followed.

Tobin hated to admit it, but this didn’t sound like the same arrogant, self-assured brat he’d met in the park and again at the auction.  Even after their incredibly short conversation he could already tell.  There was something more human about him…slightly unhinged.  He recognized that tone or at least some element of it.  He’d heard it come from his own mouth once or twice when the going had gotten particularly tough.  Still, it didn’t mean anything.  For a spoiled socialite like Sydney, tough going could mean a busted tv.

He let his disdain bleed through, “What’s the matter, Grace? Life so good for you it’s gotten boring? Or is the new pool boy not as hot as you’d hoped.”

Nobody’d ever accused Tobin of being a nice guy.

A sarcastic, tired reply greeted him, “Oh yes, Tobin, the lap of luxury is SO droll this season.”

Tobin started ticking down familiar tactics in his mind as he heard them.

That was Deflection.

“Man, what the hell? You sound rough,” he needled.

“I could say the same,” the voice at the other end nearly flat-lined.

Projection.

The blonde Omega thumbed under his nose, “Nah, seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong.  I just called to…nothing.  Forget it,” there was defeat in that tone now.

Blocking.

Yup.  Tobin was sure of it now.  Something big was definitely not-okay in Sydney’s life.  Little things that got blown out of proportion were always the ones people wanted to bitch about.  The real problems, the big ones, were the ones people tried to hide.  This wasn’t just a case of a rotten kid not getting what he wanted.  There was more at work here.  It made Tobin pinch at his sinuses.

He knew what he had to do, no matter how much it galled him.

“Look,” he sighed, “David ain’t up for guests for a bit.  Give it a week and then come see us.  I’m sure he’ll be glad to know SOMEONE gives a shit about him,” he finally replied.

Another pregnant pause took up the phone-line and all Tobin really wanted to do was sleep.

Finally, he got a reply, “…That sounds good.  Thank you, Tobin.”

“Yeah, no problem.  Look, I’m tired.  I gotta go.  G’night,” Tobin said, finally too worn out to continue.

He hung up the phone and trudged off to make sure Tuck was in his bed and sleeping soundly before he made the awful walk back to the room he’d originally been in when he got here.  It was just as nice as it had been before.  The paint on the walls was just as calming and the bed was just as comfortable, but he still felt cheated.  He’d gotten used to having David in bed to cling to him like a limpet every night.  It didn’t matter how nice the bed was if it didn’t have his mate in it…but they could hardly stay in the same bed when David was hooked up to every medical apparatus known to man.

Feeling the bone-deep weariness settling in from the past two days, Tobin covered his eyes and wished everything would go away for just a little while.

 


	5. Conspiracy Theory

David was dreaming. 

He didn’t know what he was dreaming, but he knew he was. 

There weren’t images or sounds, but he was conscious of something…or perhaps conscious of nothing.  Yes, that was it.  He was surrounded by nothing.  Could you be surrounded by nothing? That was what it felt like.  It wasn’t even a dream where he was an observer looking it at himself.  There was literally nothing to see or hear…just a void.  Everything felt muddled and uncomfortable as he drifted on a wave of painkillers even in his rest.  He didn’t feel anything.  He couldn’t even bring himself to hate the black that was too apathetic even to devour him and leave nothing behind.

He couldn’t even be disturbed when his word dipped violently to the side, tipping him out of the dream and spilling him back into the waking world.

His dark eyes opened slowly, his vision slurry in the dim of his room.  He was aware of a smallish shape on the side of his mattress.  Groggy, he reached out for it, fingers wrapping stupidly around something that might have been an elbow.  He didn’t know.  His brain didn’t seem willing to dig into its databanks far enough to tell him what was going on.  A tiny hand covered his.  The mist cleared a little.

A familiar voice spoke, “Sorry I woke you up, David…”

It was Tuck, his brain finally supplied.

Thank you, brain.

David mustered up a weak smile for his mate’s little brother, “Hey kiddo.  What’s up? That mean right hook of yours not enough for the boogeyman?”

“There’s no boogeyman,” the little boy tried to say sagely.

A goofy grin tucked into the corner of David’s mouth, “Clearly, you’ve never seen your brother at five in the morning.”

At first it seemed like Tuck was going to smile, but then his face soured, “It smells funny in here now.”

Poor kid.  He’d never been around hospitals when he was little because his mum refused to deal with them and Tobin didn’t have the money for healthcare.  He’d never gotten used to the stink of them and now his poor nose was trying to deal with their foreign scent mixing in with his home…his safe place.  It must be hard on him to have to cope with so much at once.  David was just relieved he hadn’t asked about the baby.  Thank God the kid was empathic enough to know it was a taboo subject.

David tried to tug the boy close and happily, Tuck went along with it, “Yeah.  Smells bad to me too.  Hate the smell of subpar medical equipment.  Not as good as my stuff in the lab.”

“Then why do we have it?” Tuck asked, not understanding.

“Well, okay, the hospital DOES have some stuff I don’t,” David finally admitted (very grudgingly).

Tuck was quiet again as he studied his adopted dad/big-brother so deeply it almost made the older man uncomfortable.

Finally, he said, “Does it hurt?”

Bless him.

“It does, a little,” the Alpha told him with a modicum of honesty, “Getting hit by a car hurts.  I don’t recommend it.  Remember that.”

A sad look stole over Tuck’s face and David pulled him forward until they were in as much of a hug as he could manage, “Hey, I’m okay.  It’s okay.  We’re all fine.  No need to worry, kiddo.”

The boy shook his head, “It’s too quiet.”

“I wish I could hear it from your point of view.  All these darn dinging machines and beeping things are driving me crazy,” David teased.

It didn’t banish the sadness.

“No,” Tuck said, looking down at his hands, “Only one heartbeat.”

At first, David didn’t get it.  He stared stupidly at his mate’s weirdly sensitive little brother, not understanding what it was that was bothering him.

Then it hit him.

Oh God, like a car it hit him.

The baby’s heartbeat was gone.  Still young and blessed with some of the sharpest senses, Tuck had gotten used to hearing two heartbeats when he sat close to David on the couch in the evenings.  Now, so close together, he could only hear one.  Oh God, what a horrible, lonely thought. 

Feeling a lump shove itself into his throat, David folded Tuck’s head under his chin so the boy wouldn’t see the wounded look in his eyes, “Yeah…it feels pretty quiet in there to me too…”

~~~

_3 Days Later_

Tobin hadn’t expected miracles when he brought his mate home.  Really he hadn’t. 

He had hoped for SOMETHING, though.

He knew that five days was a really short time after losing a baby.  Hell, he was still feeling the sting so keenly it stole his breath away sometimes.  He understood that it had to have been worse for David to actually carry the baby nearly to term only to lose her.  In his head, he knew all of that was true, but his heart wasn’t getting with the program.  It still tore him to pieces to see his mate suffering in ways he couldn’t help.  So yeah, he knew it was too soon, but everything still felt wrong.

His home had been invaded by foreign machines and strange people.

He had agreed to all of it under the provision that the invaders did something to help repair his ailing mate.

Nothing was getting better.

All of those foreign entities tried to tell him everything was fine.  They told him not to worry.  They told him things were going the way they should.  They told him not to interfere or intrude.  They told him to trust them and stay out of the way (like a good little Omega).  He hated it.  He hated it so much, but he had put up with it as long as he was sure it was doing David some good.  He had to put his faith in them because he wasn’t educated in medicine and he didn’t know the first thing about how to fix his mate’s body.

Bianka told him other things.

They were sitting at the kitchen table while a nurse was seeing to David in their bedroom.  Tobin looked mutinous and Bianka looked concerned.

“They are not telling you the truth, you know,” she murmured softly.

Tobin bristled, “What do you mean, Bi?”

“They say David is getting better.  He is not.  He eats very little and his eyes…all the fire is gone.  Pfft.  Snuffed out,” she demonstrated by pinching her forefinger and thumb together.

The Omega looked decidedly pissed at the new information, but then again, that was why he chose to talk to Bianka.  She saw no point in hiding information from him or obfuscating the truth because of who or what he was.  Her honesty was what he needed, not shiftless optimism and pandering lies.  He leaned forward on his elbows on the table so this could be a bit more private.

“So what else am I not getting?”

She peered out as the nurse bustled past them, giving Tobin a simpering smile (no doubt trying to ‘soothe the Omega’).

Once they were alone again, she spoke, “He eats less than before…sneaks little bites to please the doctors, but never finishes.  It is not normal.  Before he only put off eating, but when he remembered, he’d eat everything.  Now…”

Her eyes said it all.

“He puts on a show for the doctors, but that’s all it is,” the young Polish Beta finished.

“Damnit…” Tobin said, putting his face in his hands.

“We must do something, Tobin.  I see what he is doing.  He will work until the doctors say he is well enough to get rid of them…then he will hide.  He will go down to his lab and we will never see him again,” Bianka intoned grimly.

“It’s only been five days, Bi…doesn’t it take longer than that to get over somethin’ like this?” He asked.

“Psh! You do not ‘get over’ something like this! You do not ‘get over’ losing a baby!” Bianka barked, smacking the back of his hand, “Do YOU expect to ‘get over it’?”

“No! Ow, damnit, Bi!” Tobin snatched his hand away, “Okay…so…not ‘get over it’ but…heal.  Doesn’t it take longer than five days to…I dunno…heal?”

His heart still felt pretty raw, after all.

“Of course it does, but you can see whether or not a person WANTS to heal after five days.  You…you are trying to…cope.  You are moving FORWARD.  Yes, it still pains you deeply that your daughter is gone, but you are trying, trying so hard to survive.  I do not see that drive in David,” the little blonde pixie said.

“My poor, soft mate,” he said, covering his head and resting it on the table. 

He felt Bi’s fingers carding through his hair.

~~~

It was that night after dinner that Sydney decided it was finally the right time to mention his plans. 

He was standing over by the window in the den, rocking their fitful daughter in his slender arms.  His blue eyes were on his mate, watching him carefully while the big man read his evening paper.  He seemed relaxed enough tonight and amiable enough to speak to.  This really seemed like the best time to broach the subject.

“Mrs. Gray came over the other day,” he started, figuring it was safe.  After all, John liked the older woman.

“Did she?” John asked, almost bored sounding, “I trust you welcomed her in?”

“Yes, of course.  She inquired after the baby and gave me some advice.  She’s always so helpful,” Sydney said, using some of his old skill to manipulate his mate and not seem like he was hedging at the same time.

“Yes, she always works hard to keep our reputation safe,” John looked up from his paper, glancing pointedly at the baby.

Sydney’s high cheekbones coloured, “Yes.  She’s a saint.  Anyway, it got me thinking about Mr. Lewis.  You know he was in that dreadful wreck a week ago and they’ve just moved him home again.”

He got a little wary at the line of tension that crept into John’s shoulders.

“Who?” the big Alpha said.

“Mr. Lewis.  You know, John.  Mrs. Gray’s son? David?”

“Oh.  You mean Mr. Gray.  I can’t bear to call him after his Omega’s surname.  Bit of silliness, that, taking the Omega’s surname,” John huffed into his newsprint.

Sydney gritted his teeth delicately behind a vacant smile, “I’m sorry, John.  I forgot.  I was just saying that I think I’m going to take the baby over to visit them soon to see how he’s doing.  I made a social call and was officially invited, so it’s alright.”

“No,” his mate snapped out before he’d even finished his sentence.

It startled Sydney, the ferocity and conviction behind that one word.  He was stunned into silence, holding their infant girl a little tighter than was absolutely necessary.  She whimpered, but he felt the need to have her close just then.  John’s newspaper was completely forgotten as he eyed his much-smaller Omega.

“I just…” he started, “I just thought it would be polite…”

“To bring a baby that you’ve BARELY gotten under control to a sick man’s house? No.  You can go, but I forbid you to take the baby,” John rumbled.

“She…she isn’t THAT bad…and I thought she might cheer them up…” Sydney floundered. 

He didn’t understand where this aggression about the baby was coming from.

“No.  You will hire a sitter for the evening if you INSIST on going, but you are not to take the baby into that household under any circumstances.  Do you understand me, Sydney?”

Hushed and cowed all over again, Sydney looked down at the baby, “…Yes, sir.”

“Good,” John said and walked over, planting a possessive kiss on top of Sydney’s head, “I do hate to be stern, Sydney, but sometimes you just need the guidance.  You make such silly decisions on your own.”

“You’re right…” he murmured, watching as his mate returned to his newspaper.

When he was sure that John was thoroughly engrossed again, he dared to look down at their pretty little daughter.  She gazed back at him with questioning, tearful eyes far too intuitive for a one-week old child to have.  What was it about her that wound John up so much? Why was he so against taking her to see David? Of course, Sydney knew that John was firmly in the “David is a Disgraced Alpha” camp, but even so, it was practically a social obligation to go see his family.  More than that, their daughter wasn’t that poorly behaved unless she needed something and Sydney was too busy to give it.

After all this time, for the first time, Sydney Porter found a seed of suspicion growing in his heart.


	6. Better Left Unsaid

Four more days had gone by in the Porter household and Sydney had never been more tired.  He’d been exhausting himself, working nonstop to try and get daughter settled.  Every night after his mate went to bed, he waited until the man was asleep before sliding out from between the sheets to go and sit in the baby’s room.  Whenever the infant woke up and started to whimper, he was there to soothe and offer whatever the baby needed.  He made sure her cries never had time to reach the kind of volume that would rouse the big Alpha from sleep.  Then, just as the morning alarm was set to go off, he’d sneak back to bed so his mate would never realize he was gone.  It was underhanded and he knew it, but Sydney, despite being an arrogant git at times, had never been an idiot.

Something was wrong and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

He could barely stand at times he was so tired, but a little cover-up under his bruised looking raccoon-eyes, some fine acting and John never guessed that his mate was ready to collapse.  Well, Mrs. Gray had told Sydney that he needed to be more flexible.  He could rise to that challenge.  Sometimes, the trick to being a good Omega was not being good at all.  So long as his mate didn’t find out about it, Sydney was in the clear.

He was determined to make his daughter the best-behaved infant on the street.  Then maybe John would change his mind.  If not…then Sydney would know to look a little harder at what was really going on.

It was morning in the house and John was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.  The baby was upstairs asleep and enough time had been left since the last discussion about visiting David that Sydney felt it was time.  He thanked his lucky stars that during his time as a single Omega, he’d learned social manipulation.  It made his life easier when dealing with a man like John.  He knew if his parents knew he was using tactics like this against his Alpha mate they’d be ashamed, but he had to do what he could to survive.

He sidled over and laid his hands gently on his mate’s shoulders, “John? I was going to go and visit David today.”

“Very well.  Do you need any more money put into your account?” He asked, looking up at his Omega.

“No, but thank you.  I was just going to visit him.  Nowhere else, really.  I was wondering though…” Sydney made sure to keep his voice as soft as he could.

“Hm?” John set his newspaper down and rested one cheek against the back of his hand.

“I know you said you were worried about the baby disturbing David while he was ill, but I’ve been working with her.  She’s not made a peep in days.  Won’t you reconsider letting her go to visit with me?” Sydney tried.

John immediately shrugged him off, his indulgent face going sour, “Sydney, you don’t want to go down this road with me.”

“John…” he said, trying to make himself smaller, trying to sound reasonable.

“Why is it so HARD for you to trust my judgment? Why do you INSIST on being difficult?” The bigger man sighed, his calm morning on the road to ruin.

John stood stiffly, gathering his attaché case. 

“Wait, John,” Sydney reached out and took his hand.

“You are trying my patience, Sydney.  You are not to take the baby to that house.  End of discussion and I DO hope it is the last time we will HAVE this discussion,” he snapped, pulling away.

The slender Omega had been a willful creature before being bonded and that was still a part of him.  He hated being denied, especially when he saw no reason for it. 

“John, you said she couldn’t go because she was badly behaved.  Well, she’s NOT, so enough.  She’s been a good girl and I have worked very hard.  She hasn’t disturbed you ONCE so I don’t see why I can’t take her!” His oceanic blue eyes were flat with displeasure.

He gasped in surprise when his mate’s large hand wrapped around his bird-thin wrist and squeezed.  He found himself dragged over towards the chair he’d just vacated.  Sydney grunted as he was shoved down into the chair, his wrist released.  He didn’t have time to relax, though, or regroup.  He found John kneeling down in front of him a second later, eyes smouldering, mouth turned down and one hand planted on the back of the chair so his smaller mate was bracketed in.

“Sydney, I had hoped to spare you from this scandal, but it appears that you don’t trust me like you should, so there’s no helping it,” he growled low.

The small brunette’s heart was thundering in his chest, “What…what are you talking about?”

John looked at his mate’s narrowed eyes and snorted at the attitude, “I’m talking about the baby that David and his Omega just LOST.”

Sydney’s eyes widened in shock and he couldn’t speak, his entire face a mask of stunned disbelief.

The muscled Alpha in front of him nodded shortly, “That’s right.  David wasn’t the only one severely injured in that wreck.”

“But…but Tobin wasn’t injured…” Sydney interrupted, voice breathy.

“No, he wasn’t,” John said shortly.

Suddenly, it all sunk in.  If possible, the small Omega was more shocked than he had been before.  He fell back against his seat, pressing a hand to his chest to try and slow his thundering heart.

“That means that David was…” he murmured.

John’s stern look confirmed everything that he was thinking.

“I…I had no idea…” Sydney muttered, frozen in place like a wax mannequin.

“You know if you had only listened to me and trusted me, I could have spared you from knowing that.  I know you were fond of David.  I had hoped that, maybe, you wouldn’t have to know how far he’d fallen.  You should know by now that I don’t do things without reason,” John said, standing and straightening out his clothes.

Sydney sat, silent.

The Alpha sighed heavily and rested a heavy hand on the top of his head, “Do you have any idea how much it would have upset them to bring a new baby into a household that had just lost one? You need to stop being so…selfish and hysterical, pet.  I know you’re better than that.  I’ve seen you be better than that.”

“Now,” he continued, “I have to go to work.  You’re free to go and give David your respects, but remember our talk, alright? Have a good day.”

He stroked a hand down the back of his mate’s neck and picked his case up again.  His mate could only sit there, alone, as the click of a door sounded through their house.  He had no idea what he felt now…no idea what to think.  He’d not felt this stupid in a long time.  Why couldn’t he just be a good, obedient Omega like he was supposed to be? Why couldn’t he just trust his mate? Why did he constantly vex him and drag him through all of this, especially when John had just been trying to shelter him like a good Alpha was supposed to do?

Exhaustion crashed back over him like a wave and he stood to go and take a nap.

~~~

Tobin had been lurking by the phone for the better part of the morning.

For the past four days he’d been making a regular ass out of himself, trying to get David to open up.  Sure, the Alpha was making a good show of getting better, but nothing ever reached his eyes anymore.  Whenever Tobin looked at them, he saw a wall.  There had been a time not so many months ago when he and David could have had entire conversations just with their eyes and routinely did, but now the Omega felt like he was screaming down a phone with a cut cord.  He was trying as hard as he could, but only getting a dial tone in return.

He needed something to shock David, to get his blood pumping again.

Hence the waiting for the phone to ring.

He remembered quite keenly that Sydney was supposed to be calling soon.  It had been a week and he was waiting for the stupid brat to just CALL so he could invite him over.  Maybe it would be a change of pace for David, a new face that would be harder to block out.  Maybe it would angry him up to see one of the socialites from his mother’s old circle.  Maybe (and Tobin HATED to admit this) he’d get some pleasure out of seeing someone that he had, at one time, considered at least a friend.

However, that could only happen if the fucker CALLED HIM.

His little brother was off of school for today and playing with his dinosaurs with David in the bedroom (trying to get David to play with him), so Tobin had a few spare minutes to slip off.  Fine.  If Sydney wasn’t going to call him (the fucker), Tobin was going to be the one making a connection.  The Omega had never been a patient man where his mate’s health and safety was concerned, but he HAD always been the type of man to bust skulls and take names where the need arose.

Mind made up, he grabbed for the phone, frowning through the scruffy blonde whiskers that had grown.  He had only been thinking of his mate and son lately, so shaving hadn’t been on the top of his list and, despite being an Omega, he was still a man.  Morning ablutions to keep him from looking like a hipster lumberjack were still required and he’d been ignoring them for the most part.  His sleepy blue eyes were determined as he picked the receiver up out of the cradle and dialed.

It started to ring.

It continued to ring.

Tobin’s lips twitched in annoyance when nobody picked up and the sound of one-sided need filled his ear, high and piercing.  Sydney wanted to ignore him now, huh? Well, tough luck, fucker.  He was a stubborn son of a bitch.

Finally, on what had to be the sixth or seventh ring, there was a click and some fumbling as someone clearly rushed to get the phone.

The voice that greeted him was husky and mumbly, “Who’sit?”

Tobin’s pale brow furrowed, “Grace? You still asleep? Jesus, man, it’s noon.”

“…Damn,” said Sydney from the other end, still sounding groggy.

Tobin was silent on his end, waiting for the other Omega to get it together.  When the other man spoke again, he sounded less muddled.

“Tobin? Is that you? What is it?” Okay, so Sydney was still a little confused, but at least he didn’t sound like he was coming off a hangover anymore.

“What the hell, man? You were supposed to be visiting today,” the blonde Omega snapped, frustrated.

Silence greeted him, incensing him further.

“Oh, I get it.  You got more important things to do? Re-thought your little ‘kind’ gesture now, huh? We ain’t convenient anymore?”

Sydney made a confused noise.

“Shit.  You honestly fucking forgot, didn’t you? Are we that unimportant in your busy life then?”

Finally, the smaller Omega rallied and replied, “Hold on, hold on…calm down…”

“I AM fucking calm.”

Skeptical silence greeted him and Tobin subsided with a grumble.

“I didn’t mean to snub you.  I just…lost track of time today.  How is David?” Sydney tried, voice still hoarse as he stood and stretched.

“You could come over and see for yourself,” was Tobin’s rebuttal.

Sydney looked over at the clock by his bed and considered.  It was noon, which meant all of the full-day sitters would already be booked out and the evening-only sitters wouldn’t be available until John was off-work.  His too-long nap had cost him his window of opportunity.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can today,” he said honesty, but careful to leave out the ‘why’.

Tobin could tell he was hedging and challenged, “Why? What’s so important, then?”

“I just…” Sydney pinched his sinuses, already feeling a headache coming on, “I just can’t.”

“You can do better than that, Grace,” Tobin’s voice had gone flat with burgeoning anger.

“It’s Porter now,” Sydney said, padding to the baby’s room with the phone, knowing she’d likely be up by now.

“Whoop-de-fuckin’-doo.  Why are you avoidin’ us?” The surlier Omega grilled.

Feeling cornered, Sydney snapped, “Why didn’t you tell me David was pregnant?”

There was a deadly silence then and Sydney knew he’d gone too far.  It was something he did to get people to leave him alone when he was pushed too hard.  The thing was that Sydney Porter heard everything, always paying attention and absorbing information.  It was how you survived in the upper class.  That meant he occasionally had a head too full of sensitive information and a temper made delicate by stress and fatigue.  Whenever someone pushed him just that little bit too far, he went on the defensive, using personal information as a shield to protect himself and either change the subject or cow people into leaving the matter alone entirely.

He’d used it on the wrong person, unintentional or not.

Tobin was not a man easily distracted nor intimidated.  He was a fighter.  He fought back.

“Because it was none of your business, asshole.  So what? That’s it? You gonna wash your hands like all the rest of your stuck-up friends?”

Sydney held his head, “No, no Tobin, that’s not what I meant, please…”

“Shut up.  I knew you were still the fuckin’ same.”

“Tobin!”

Beneath Sydney, his daughter started to whimper and squirm in her cot, roused by the din of angry, desperate conversation.  The sound of her first thin wail carried up to the receiver.  There was another silence.

“What was that?”

Sydney chewed his lower lip before reaching down for his daughter, propping her on his hip, “…It’s my daughter.  She’s…she’s the reason I can’t come over today.  I was...trying not to…you know…”

On his end, Tobin took a deep breath, “…Just had a baby, huh?”

“I’m so sorry.  I overslept and I can’t call a sitter now and I didn’t want to bring her over knowing that you and David just lost a child.  John thought it might be…cruel of me,” Sydney said, sitting down in the rocking chair in the room.

“Cruel never worried you before,” Tobin said, though there was less accusation to his tone now.

“…Tomorrow, Tobin.  I’ll come over tomorrow.”

The brunette Omega’s voice sounded exhausted before he hung up the phone, leaving the taller man with only another dial tone.


	7. Hard Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to a lot of free days sitting without distraction, I'm able to release two chapters today again. Once again and as always, all my thanks for all the comments and kudos...and to my silent readers, lots of love to you too. I hope you're all on the edge of your seats!

David was sleeping off his latest round of pain medication when Sydney arrived the next morning. Tobin was sitting with his mate, as if his company alone could heal the hurts the other man felt.  It fell to Bianka to answer the door.

She was clearly stunned to see Sydney again, though he’d been a visitor at the house before in years past.

The last time she’d seen him, he’d been crisp and neatly-pressed, looking younger and more vibrant even than his mere 18 years.  He’d worn a nice suit and a self-assured expression, his bright blue eyes clever, sharp and superior.  She hadn’t been overly fond of him then, as he’d been as he’d seemed just as vain and hierarchal as any other rich Omega his age.  At the same time, she hadn’t disliked him either, a little drawn by his polite manner (to her at least) and his soft nature.  When he’d spoken with David, he’d been quick-witted and smooth, cool as a cucumber.  She could hardly see any of that youth in the man who stood at her door now.

The man she saw now looked a little leaner, his eyes still that unreal shade of azure, but older now, older than they should be.  His hair was still neatly parted and his clothes were as tidy, but something in the way he held himself spoke of stress and bone-deep weariness she didn’t know a prized trophy Omega could carry.  He was dressed in a deep green cardigan, white button-down shirt and black tie over dark slacks.  She could see the veins in his slim, porcelain hands.  She immediately felt the need to nurture what had become of the once-incandescent boy.

He nodded his head to her genially, “Good morning, Bianka.  I’m here to see the Lewis’s?”

She immediately moved aside to let him in, “David’s asleep and Tobin’s sitting with him for the moment.  Why don’t you come in and I’ll get you a cup of tea? You liked Jasmine, right?”

Something warm flickered in his eyes, “Yes, thank you very much.  I’m surprised you remember.”

“The best housekeepers always remember,” she tapped her temple and guided him into the kitchen, getting him to sit.

He sat with a soft huff and Bianka saw a man whose vitality had been stolen away from him early.  The urge to care for him came over her afresh and she busied herself with the tea.  While she worked, she tried to make idle conversation, knowing how well it could ease a person who wasn’t sure of their place.  She didn’t mind.  Sydney, though arrogant in his younger, single days, hadn’t been rude to her.

“So I understand you took a mate last year,” she said.

“Yes.  John Porter,” Sydney replied, indulging her.

Blunt little Bianka’s nose wrinkled, “Truly?”

“Yes.  Is something wrong?” he looked at her curiously.

“I just do not think it is a good match.  You are too delicate for him,” she sniffed.

“John’s good to me,” he said, slightly defensive on his mate’s behalf.

“John Porter is not a bad man.  He is just not good for you…too big, too ruthlessly practical.  You…if I remember correctly, you were an artist…a dreamer,” Bianka told him.

The doe-eyed man in front of her went quiet for a minute.  She could see him thinking and she recalled now his talent with music.  Though aloof, he’d shown a modicum of delight when his conversations with David had shifted to music somehow.  She had seen glee in his eyes the one time her employer had invited him to the symphony.  Yes…despite society’s attempt to make him as cut-throat and ornamental as the rest of the upper class, there was still a romantic in him, tender and wistful.

She set a cup of tea down in front of him, watched as he inhaled blissfully, his shoulders relaxing.

“You are very bold, Bianka,” he informed her.

“For a Beta, a woman or a household employee?” she asked him, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Sydney’s eyes widened, startled that she would engage rather than taking it as the chastisement it was meant to be.  He didn’t actually have a response to that.

She laughed softly, “Poor thing, you are so unused to people telling you the truth.  I can’t even imagine what sort of housekeepers you have.”

“Oh, we don’t keep household staff.  I stay at home, so I care for the house,” he told her without offense.

“No wonder you look so wilted,” Bianka replied, not unkindly.

The Omega bridled a little bit, “Plenty of Omegas stay at home and take care of the house.  It’s simply the way things are done.  Our mates care for us and we care for the home.  Doesn’t Tobin do the same?”

Bianka laughed again, merry, “Not all Omegas are the same, dear Sydney! You, I think, would do better with a partner than a protector.  It is that lover’s heart of yours.  It gets lonely, I bet, and makes the chores that much more tiring to muddle through.”

“It costs me very little to keep the house nice,” he argued.

“Nice or impeccable? You appreciate order, yes, but I think your soul rebels at keeping an un-lived in home, which I DO suspect your house looks like,” Bianka retorted primly.

Sydney looked surreptitiously at David’s home, spotting a stray beer bottle on the table in the living room, a toy truck forgotten on the area rug.  He saw little signs of a life busily lived in the house, tell-tale touches of warmth and vitality.  They were small things that would have driven John crazy…a book left opened over the arm of a couch and other assorted bits of cozy debris.  He felt his heart twist for some unnamed reason.

The little Polish Beta didn’t miss his gaze.

He looked down into his teacup as if it held all the answers, “You just don’t understand, Bianka.”

She patted him on the shoulder and moved back towards the counter “I do wonder what you would become if you were allowed to be what you will be instead of a dutiful little soldier.  Now drink your tea before it goes cold.”

Unsure of what to say (or that there was anything TO say), Sydney did as he was bidden, sipping at the warm drink she’d given him.  He looked up sharply when he heard the sound of a door closing, seeing Tobin emerge from what he assumed was David’s room.  They looked about as haggard as each other, both worn down by their mutual hardships.  Tobin did, at least, look gratified to see that Sydney had actually made it, his face evening out a little from the agonized pinching at the edges of his eyes. 

Sydney gave himself a moment to stop and look, really look, at his one-time rival.  He remembered the first time he’d seen him in the park, horrible and offensive and barbaric.  He remembered how he’d snapped and snarled, uncaring of proper behavior or dynamic.  Sydney remembered how he’d tried to shame him, unable to comprehend such an uncouth creature.  He remembered how stunned he’d been when this hulking ANIMAL won David’s love and how confused he’d been.  He looked at him now and compared him to then.

The brunette could still see an iron will behind the sleepy half-hood of his eyes, a too-proud set to his neck and shoulders.  However, in his face he could also see stress and strain and frustration. 

He jumped when he felt Bianka’s hand on his shoulder, when she whispered in his ear, “Be kind.  His partner is doing poorly.  It hurts him.”

Then she was gone as Tobin sat himself down at the table, weary down to his very soul.  Bianka set a cup of coffee in front of him before disappearing to work elsewhere and give the two of them some privacy.  Sydney watched as Tobin ran a large hand over his blonde locks, the shaved sides grown out into a neater, more conventional style since he last saw him.

“Hey man, thanks for comin’.  David’s too tired to see you yet, but still…” he sipped his coffee.

“It’s fine, really,” Sydney replied, one thin fingertip running circuits around the lip of his teacup.

Tobin looked up at him, took him in for the first time, “You look like shit.”

Sydney snorted, “You’re not winning any beauty competitions either.”

They stared each other down hard before the blonde Omega broke with a snort of his own, grinning ruefully and chuckling.

“You’re still a dickhead,” he announced.

“Thanks.  Good to know,” Sydney quipped, feeling the tension bleed out of the room.

“I thought they trained all of that shit out of you fancy Omegas once you got the old ball and chain,” Tobin said, antagonistic as always, but not trying to start a fight this time.

“Please.  If you think I’m bad, you should meet some of my peers.  The elite Omega community is a pit of vipers.  One must harbor a degree of venom if one wishes to survive,” Sydney tapped the table meaningfully.

“Figured,” the other shrugged and took a swallow of hot coffee.

“Is it not the same where you’re from?” Sydney asked naively.

“Nobody to impress at the bottom of the barrel.  When you’re as poor as we were, everybody’s gotta work and nobody’s got time to sit around lookin’ pretty.  Being poor as shit tends to even up the playin’ field between dynamics.  Hell, look at this place.  Ain’t no difference between me, Bianka and David except that I’ve got a heat to deal with every month,” Tobin said nonchalantly, one eyebrow raised.

“You’re not exactly poor now,” the other Omega pointed out.

“Not exactly ‘the elite’ either,” Tobin said with mocking air quotes around the title.

“Your mate is one of the most famous scientists in the country,” Sydney bickered.

Tobin raised an eyebrow, “He also ain’t too popular with the rest of you.”

Sydney looked down at his tea again, looking thoughtful at that notion.

Tobin watched him think about it for a minute before changing the subject slightly, “Anyway, I guess I should be grateful you’re not more of an ass.  Takin’ care of a baby’s a pain.”

The smaller Omega scoffed, “You would know?”

The other’s back went stiff and Sydney sighed, putting a hand to his forehead, “Forgive me.  That was un-called for.”

“Your bedside manner is shit…but yeah, I would know.”

The bigger Omega could have laughed when Sydney gave him an intensely curious look.

“Yeah, I’ve raised a kid before.  My mom was a fuckin’ loser, so I had to raise my kid brother.  Babies are tough, man,” Tobin told him, “Only good thing about it was I knew what I was in for when it turned out I was gonna be a daddy.”

The sympathetic look he got was almost too much.

Sydney asked, very gently, “When is the funeral?”

“Ain’t nothing to bury.  He never had the baby,” Tobin said bitterly.

His companion furrowed his brow, the bridge of his nose wrinkling a little, “Yes, but it’s still common medical practice to give the remains over to the family so they can lay it to rest.  He may not have actually HAD the child, but there was still a body if he was far enough along.”

“Almost to term,” Tobin said suspiciously.

Sydney’s expression mirrored his own, “Then there would have definitely been something to bury, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“Yes, I do fucking mind,” the more aggressive of the two snarled.

His more passive counterpart looked like he was about to apologize before Tobin cut him off, holding up a hand, “I MIND because it means something is very fucking wrong.  How soon would they have given her to us? Y’know…after.”

“Within two to three days to my knowledge.”

“And the crash was over a week ago.”

The smaller brunette looked uneasy.

Suddenly, Tobin’s fist met the table and he stood sharply, eyes gone hard as he glared down at Sydney, “Then where the hell IS she?”

“…I don’t know,” Sydney murmured.

Snarling, the blonde Omega stalked over to the telephone, “I’m calling the hospital.”

Bianka’s small hand shoved the receiver down into the cradle before he could lift it more than a centimeter, appearing out of virtually nowhere, her eyes stern, “Now is not the time.”

“The hell it isn’t, Bi!” Tobin shouted, eyes narrowed.

Her hand didn’t budge and she allowed herself to be unmoved by his rage.  Bianka had never been afraid of Tobin, never willing to back down when she knew what was best.  She wasn’t the sort of woman to tell people what they wanted to hear if it was wrong nor was she the sort to let people do what they wanted if it would only hurt them later.  She had never backed down from him before and she wasn’t backing down now.

Her voice was the very essence of reason as she said, “David is waking up.  He doesn’t need to hear this.  There will be time later.”

Tobin still looked mutinous, so Sydney rose slowly from his chair, staying a careful distance away, “She’s right, Tobin.  I promise there will be time later.  I’ll help you.”

Both of them watched the confused, angry Omega as he fought with the information.  They could see the war behind his eyes, both sides battling.  His need to protect his family was tearing at his desperate urge to have his daughter, even if it was only her body.  Finally, blessedly, his instinctive need to protect his more vulnerable mate won out and he eased his hand away from the phone.  Bianka was quick to reach up and place her hands on his shoulders.

“We’ll get her back and we’ll put her to rest, Tobin.  When the time is right, we’ll do it.  I promise.  For now, David needs you, so you two go back and see him.”

Respectfully, Sydney didn’t move to head back to the bedroom until Tobin had himself under control enough to take the lead.


End file.
